An approved estimate becomes a job: the work the customer just bought. Most of the time this happens automatically when the customer signs. When they say yes by phone or in person, you convert it yourself.
When the customer approves online
When the customer signs on their approval page, Run a Call creates the job for them. You don't need to do anything. The job:
- has the line items of the option they chose, including any add-ons they ticked,
- is the job type set on the estimate (see Set the job type first), or Service when none is set,
- is ready to schedule, and shows on the dispatch board's unscheduled list,
- carries the summary of work, the contact and the Sold by person from the estimate,
- gets the signed contract saved to its files, if a contract was attached.
If the estimate was built from an existing job, for example a service call where the tech quoted a repair, the sold work is added to that job and no new job is created, so the visit fee and the repair go on one invoice. If the job only has a draft invoice so far, the new lines are added to the draft too. If the job has already been invoiced, a new job is created instead. When you convert the estimate yourself, you choose (see step 3 below).
Your team gets a notification, and the estimate page shows Converted — This estimate is now a job. with a View job button.
If the estimate has a payment schedule, the deposit invoice is created at the same moment, due on receipt. It's sent to the customer unless you turned that off in the schedule.
Set the job type first
On the estimate page, the Customer card has a Job type row. It reads Not set until you pick one. Click it and choose the type this work becomes once it's approved, for example Installation for a system replacement. It saves straight away (Job type saved); pick Clear to remove it.
The job type matters because automations and reports follow it. An install sold online with no job type set would arrive as a Service job, and your install automations wouldn't fire.
- Online approval uses it for the new job.
- Convert to job and the Approve estimate window start on it, and you can still change it there.
- When the work is added to an existing job instead of a new one, that job keeps its own type.
- The row disappears once the estimate has become a job; change the type on the job from then on.
Convert an estimate yourself
Use this when the customer approved by phone or in person, or when you want to send a tech to present the estimate.
Click Convert to job
Open the estimate and click Convert to job. You'll find it in the next-step bar on an approved estimate, and on the right for a sent or viewed one.
Say whether the customer approved
For an estimate that isn't approved yet, answer Has the customer approved this estimate?
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Yes — approved | By phone or in person. Creates the job and marks the estimate approved. |
| Not yet — sales visit | Send a tech to present it. The estimate stays open until they sign. Pick a Technician, Visit date and Visit time, or leave them empty to assign the visit later from the dispatch board. |
Add to the original job, or create a new one
If the estimate was raised on a job (for example, the tech quoted a replacement during a repair visit), the window tells you, for example This estimate was raised on JOB-0412 (Completed)., and asks where the work goes:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Add the work to JOB-0412 | The sold line items go onto that job, and no new job is created. The job keeps its own date and crew, so the scheduling, crew and install length fields are hidden. Reschedule it from the job if the work needs another visit. |
| Create a new job for this work | A new job is created with the date, time, crew and install length you fill in below, the usual way. The original job stays as it is. |
The window picks for you, and you can change it:
- Create a new job for this work when the original job is already Completed. The visit is over, so the sold work, usually an install, needs its own job.
- Add the work to JOB-… when the original job is still open (scheduled or in progress), so the repair and the visit stay on one invoice.
You won't see this choice when the work can't go on the original job, for example because that job has already been invoiced, closed or cancelled. A new job is created then. If Run a Call has to create a new job instead of adding to the original, the confirmation tells you why.
When you approve the estimate from its status instead, the Approve estimate window adds the work to the original job by default, just like a customer approval. It says Approving adds the sold work to JOB-0412. To book it as its own job, switch on Schedule it as a new job instead. See Approvals that happen in person or by phone.
Set up the job
- Option — if the customer hasn't picked one yet, choose which option becomes the job.
- Install length — one day, or a multi-day install with the same crew. See Planning multi-day jobs.
- Scheduling, crew and job details — fill in what you know now, or leave them for dispatch.
- Sold by — who gets credit for the sale. It defaults to whoever built the estimate.
Create the job
Click Create job (or Create N-day install). When you're adding the work to the original job, the button reads Add to JOB-0412 and the confirmation says Added to JOB-0412. For a sales visit, click Schedule sales visit or Save sales visit.
Choosing Yes — approved marks the estimate Approved and generates the deposit invoice if there's a payment schedule. A job without a date shows on the dispatch board's unscheduled list, ready to schedule.
You can't convert a Declined or Expired estimate, or one with a contract the customer hasn't signed yet. For an expired estimate, extend its validity and resend it first. For a contract, send the customer the link to sign.
Approving without creating a job
To record an approval without making a job yet, change the estimate's status to Approved. In the Approve estimate window, pick the Approved option and Sold by, and turn off Create a job from this estimate. You can click Convert to job later.
If the estimate was built from a job that hasn't been invoiced, there's no such switch: approving adds the work to that job, or to a new job if you switch on Schedule it as a new job instead.
If the scope changes after approval
The approved estimate stays exactly as the customer signed it. Make changes on the job instead: add or remove line items there, and the invoice bills what's on the job. For payment-schedule jobs, extra work is billed separately with Invoice extras. See Invoicing milestone payments.